About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.  

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Project Manager and "Air Traffic Controller"

Summary:

We are seeking a highly skilled and proactive team member to help manage the business unit’s strategic project portfolio while interfacing with enterprise-level teams. Acting as an “air traffic controller,” and business/strategic project manager, this role ensures that projects are tracked, sequenced, and launched at the right time to maximize organizational impact. In addition, the selected resource will manage individual projects, as prioritized. The ideal candidate will collaborate closely with business unit stakeholders, project teams, and enterprise change management to align priorities, manage dependencies, identify areas of change impact concentration, recommend potential initiative sequencing and help drive effective change management across the portfolio and manage projects effectively.

In this role, you will be a leader who is analytical, proactive, able to see the big picture and manage details, action-oriented, a great communicator, and comfortable driving change through influence. You will interact with Wealth Management senior leaders, Practice, Product, Change Management and Technology partners to foster an innovative and integrated environment, resulting in an optimized portfolio with clear priorities and expected outcomes. In addition, this role is responsible for aligning resources, overseeing the project budget (if applicable), creating project plans, tracking key milestones/risks/dependencies and facilitating working group discussions. Qualified candidates should demonstrate strong project management skills, with an attention to detail and project deadlines.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead and manage diverse projects, ensuring delivery on time, within scope and budget.

Coordinate cross-functional teams, track project timelines, and facilitate stakeholder meetings.

Develop project scopes, business cases, and manage communications, risks, and issues.

Partner with stakeholders to define success metrics and ensure project alignment with business objectives.

Support the Wealth Management strategic portfolio through governance, change management, and optimization.

Track strategic roadmaps, dependencies, and change impacts across initiatives.

Collaborate with senior leaders to align priorities and manage portfolio-level risks.

Facilitate change management escalations and drive portfolio governance activities.

Qualifications and Skills:

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

5–7+ years of experience in project management and/or strategic portfolio coordination.

Strong understanding of project and portfolio methodologies (Agile, Waterfall).

Proficiency in Microsoft Office, project management tools, and portfolio platforms (e.g., Azure DevOps).

Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Exceptional organizational skills with a proven ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effective stakeholder management and relationship building.

Highly flexible and adaptable to change.

Proactive and self-motivated.

Strong critical/strategic thinking.

Analytical mindset with the ability to synthesize data and identify trends.

Problem-solving and decision-making skills to manage risks and resolve conflicts.

Adaptability to manage priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Experience in financial services preferred.

Salary Range:

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

Working with Us: 

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater 

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com.

 
We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.